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Pretty Little Liars and the stars of The Vampire Diaries look set to dominate the 2014 Teen Choice Awards in August (14) after picking up a collection of nominations between them. The shows lead the way with five nods apiece - Pretty Little Liars dominates the drama categories and The Vampire Diaries has scored top sci-fi/fantasy nods.
Pretty Little Liars will do battle with Hart of Dixie, Switched at Birth, The Fosters and Twisted for Best Drama, while Arrow,
Once Upon a Time, Sleepy Hollow and Teen Wolf will fight it out for Choice TV Show: Sci-Fi/Fantasy with The Vampire Diaries.
And Pretty Little Liars co-stars Keegan Allen and Ian Harding and Troian Bellisario and Lucy Hale will compete against each other for the Choice TV Actor and Actress: Drama awards.
Josh Dallas (Once Upon a Time), Joseph Morgan (The Originals) and Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) have been nominated for Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, opposite The Vampire Diaries stars Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, while their co-stars Nina Dobrev and Kat Graham are up for the female equivalent.
The Choice TV Show: Comedy honour will be a fight between Austin & Ally, Glee, New Girl, Sam & Cat and The Big Bang Theory and the Choice TV: Animated Show nominees are Adventure Time, Family Guy, Gravity Falls, Regular Show and The Simpsons.
Meanwhile, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trails behind with four nominations in the sci-fi/fantasy film category, including nods for Choice Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Choice Actor (Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth), and will go up against Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World for the Choice Movie prize.
For Choice Movie: Action, fans will vote between Divergent, Edge of Tomorrow, Godzilla, Maleficent, and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
The Choice Movie: Drama nominees include American Hustle, Heaven is for Real, Million Dollar Arm, The Fault in Our Stars and Veronica Mars, while Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Blended, Ride Along, The Other Woman, and Vampire Academy vie for the Choice Movie: Comedy trophy.
Other nominees include Shailene Woodley (Choice Movie Actress: Action and Choice Movie Actress: Drama), Beyonce (Choice Female Artist, Choice Female Hottie), Selena Gomez (Choice Female Hottie, Choice Smile), and One Direction (Choice Music Group, Choice Male Hottie).

Sony Pictures via Everett Collection
Cate Blanchett recently won her second Academy Award for her brilliant performance in Blue Jasmine , which means that a younger generation of moviegoers is becoming familiar with her work for the first time. Prior to this, Blanchett has been relatively absent from the film industry, devoting her time instead to the Sydney Theatre Company which she co-directed with her husband for six years. Moreover, most moviegoers recognize Blanchett for her brief appearances as Galadriel in the beloved The Lord of The Rings trilogy, or for her performances in more mainstream films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Aviator (2004), for which she won her first Academy Award as legendary actress Katharine Hepburn. All of this is fine, but Blanchett’s greatest performances can be found in lesser-known, independent films that mainstream audiences tend to overlook. Below is a list of 10 of these performances to remind us once again why Blanchett is one of the most captivating screen actresses of our time.
1. Jude in I’m Not There. (2007)
In Todd Haynes’ wildly inventive “biopic” of Bob Dylan, Blanchett owns the film as a version of the musician during his electric years. Since the film isn’t told in a linear fashion, audiences didn’t bother to see it, but within seconds it becomes clear that Blanchett is the only performer — male or female — who could have played this role.
2. Philippa in Heaven (2002)
Blanchett is a revelation as a woman who is arrested for terrorist acts and subsequently falls in love with the officer (Giovanni Ribisi) who is supposed to look after her while in a holding cell. Heaven begins as a thriller and ends as one of the most romantic films ever made, with Blanchett taking the audience on this riveting journey every step of the way
3. Sheba Hart in Notes on a Scandal (2006)
Blanchett goes toe-to-toe with acting legend Judi Dench in this taut psychological drama about a teacher (Blanchett) who has an affair with a student and is found out by one of the senior teachers (Dench) at the school. Few films are as impeccably acted as this, and during the film’s intense, climactic showdown, Blanchett shows a side of herself that audiences haven’t seen since.
4. Cate and Shelly in Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Coffee and Cigarettes is an anthology film by Jim Jarmusch, and in one of the vignettes entitled “Cousins,” Blanchett stars opposite herself as both Cate and Shelly, two wildly different cousins who reunite over a cup of coffee. Not much happens here, except that we are shown Blanchett’s incredible range as she inhabits both of these characters with equal skill. Who else can pull something like this off and yet make it so watchable and believable?
5. Tracy in Little Fish (2005)
Blanchett is riveting as a drug addict struggling to rebuild her life in this excellent Australian drama. Those who marveled at Blanchett’s ability to confront addiction head-on in Blue Jasmine might be surprised to find that she’s just as fierce in Little Fish, a film that might have earned her a Best Actress Academy Award if it were more popular in the United States.
6. Charlotte Gray in Charlotte Gray (2001)
Blanchett is lovely as a young Scottish woman who joins the French Resistance during WWII to find her boyfriend who is lost in France. Director Gillian Armstrong is known for her beautiful restraint, and Blanchett matches her with a performance that feels so authentic we almost forget she’s acting at all.
7. Kate Wheeler in Bandits (2001)
Who knew Blanchett could be so funny? Bandits is a ridiculous caper that stars Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis as two bank robbers who kidnap Blanchett and fall in love with her. Unlike Heaven, which is somber and serious, Bandits is a playful romp. For those who admired Jennifer Lawrence’s “Live and Let Die” moment in American Hustle, remember that Blanchett did it years ago while dancing to “I Need a Hero” in this film.
8. Veronica Guerin in Veronica Guerin (2003)
In this true story, Blanchett plays Veronica Guerin, an Irish journalist who was murdered by drug dealers when she exposed their crimes in her articles. This is a heartbreaking tale about an ordinary hero, and Blanchett’s riveting turn pays proper homage to Guerin while simultaneously allowing her legacy to live on in the hearts and minds of those fortunate enough to who watch this courageous film.
9. Petal Barr in The Shipping News (2001)
The Shipping News isn’t a great movie, but it is worth mentioning for Blanchett’s scene-stealing turn as Kevin Spacey’s reckless lover who leaves him in the beginning of the movie. Her part is small, but she makes an undeniable impact, and shows how she can make the most of even the slightest roles. For the few scenes she’s in, Blanchett makes us feel like we’ve been with this character forever.
10. Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998)
One of the biggest injustices in Academy Awards history is when Gwyneth Paltrow won the Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love in the same year that Blanchett gave us her rendition of a young Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth, one of the finest lead performances in the history of cinema. Paltrow is fine, but Blanchett’s work in this film is in a class by itself. This is the one that started it all.
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Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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The Supreme Court's ruling today that DOMA and Prop 8 are unconstitutional resulted in cries of joy across the land today, many of them expressed over Twitter from a celebrity community as diverse as Melissa Joan Hart, Lena Dunham, Damon Lindelof, Ben Affleck, and President Obama. However, none may have been as ecstatic as Kristen Bell and partner Dax Shepard. When the news came down she immediately tweeted a proposal to Shepard, who later tweeted back the response, "DOMA is dead. Prop 8 is dead. Now let's bring my big, gay marriage to @IMKristenBell to Life!!!!" Also, does this mean that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who've also been waiting for marriage equality, are going to tie the knot themselves?
.@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove”
— Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) June 26, 2013
DOMA is dead. Prop 8 is dead. Now let's bring my big, gay marriage to @IMKristenBell to Life!!!!
— dax shepard (@daxshepard1) June 26, 2013
Of course, Bell seems pretty excited. But have her impending nuptials made her as excited as this?
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt | Follow Hollywood.com on Twitter @Hollywood_com
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Melissa Joan Hart pulled the plug on her online fundraising campaign on Monday (13May13) after failing to pull in donations. The Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star launched a Kickstarter.com drive last month (Apr13) to fund her first "sexy and adult" movie in a bid to shake off her clean-cut image.
But clearly fans were not so keen on the former child actress' plans and the blonde was forced to axe the campaign after just $51,000 (£32,903) trickled in.
Hart initially aimed to raise $2 million (£1.29 million) for the project, entitled Darci's Walk of Shame, by 26 May (13).
The actress' disappointment comes just weeks after the Kickstarter campaign started by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas to make a movie version of the hit TV series smashed through his $2 million (£1.25 million) funding goal in just five hours, becoming the donation site's most-supported project to date.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Melissa Joan Hart was the object of many a pre-teen boy's crush and practically every young girl's aspiration. From Clarissa's killer wardrobe and keen insight to Sabrina's cutie boyfriend and magical powers, Hart had — and could explain — it all.
But now it's 2013 and Hart is ready to leave her goody two-shoes image behind. "A lot of people still remember me as Clarissa and Sabrina," Hart says. "I do have my new show, [ABC Family's] Melissa and Joey, which is a fun adult comedy, but that's still having trouble getting as many eyes as shows like Sabrina [the Teenage Witch] did or having the cult following that Clarissa [Explains It All] did. So people a lot of times still think I'm on this kid show or still playing a safe child."
Hart wants to transition her more mature persona from television to the big screen with the romantic comedy Darci's Walk of Shame (the title itself hints at some PG-13 subject matter), a film for which she is seeking funding on Kickstarter. "This character is one of these flawed women who can't quite get it right, is trying to find love and be the person she should be, and she ends up one morning waking up after her sister's wedding in Thailand and realizing she made a mistake," she says. "I love playing these flawed women, and I get to do that on Melissa and Joey, but to be able to do that on the big screen in a big, broad comedy would be so exciting."
Hart was presented with the script by Tibor Takács, the director of the first Sabrina movie. Despite Hart's interest, they haven't been able to get the film off the ground. "We brought it around and tried all the traditional ways to get this movie made but it wasn't working out for us, we were having no luck," Hart says. "A lot of people shy away from romantic comedies unless it's got a big box office name at the front of it, and when Veronica Mars had great success on Kickstarter we thought that might be a good way to let the fans speak for themselves and sort of decide who they wanted at the helm of the movie."
But leaving things up to the fans isn't without its own set of stressors. "It's a risk. I'm asking other people to take a leap of faith and get involved and if we don't reach our goal it all goes away. So there's a very real possibility we might be in Thailand later this year shooting the movie, but there's also a very real possibility we won't," Hart says.
In Veronica Mars' Kickstarter campaign, Kristen Bell played to her show's cult following and our culture's general obsession with all things nostalgic. While Hart is correct that she has legions of dedicated fans — ones who, as Hart says, "Grew up with [her], that feel like [she's] a part of their family or a good friend, and they really protect [her]" — Darci's Walk of Shame is a whole new project entirely, with none of the built-in sentimentality.
Would Hart consider casting fellow Sabrina or Clarissa alums in Darci to appease her fan base? "I hadn't thought about that, necessarily," she says. "But I always try to go back to my friends before I find new people, for sure. I already talked to a friend of mine about playing the male lead role in it, depending on when this happens and if it happens."
Hart continues, "I'd love to work with Soleil [Moon Frye] or Elisa Donovan or some of those people. The hard thing with that, though, is it's not a Sabrina movie. So it's still hard to put Sabrina people into it and not have people go, 'You keep doing the same thing over and over again.'"
So, why not just do a Sabrina movie? Or a Clarissa one, at that? With not only the success of Veronica Mars but also other nostalgia-driven projects like Disney's Girl Meets World pilot and the CW's launch of The Carrie Diaries this year, the demand for the resurrection of old material has never been higher. But Hart simply isn't interested.
"That's tough for me. I do want to move forward. I want to play new characters, I've played those characters for so long, and they were kids," she says. "I think in theory it sounds great to say, 'Let's see how they grew up,' for a one-off episode or something. But I don't think you want to see those shows come back as Sabrina, the Middle-Aged Witch. I just don't think it'll be as appealing as people say."
"I think even the theory of like a high school reunion — it sounds great and then you go and everyone is old and fat," Hart says. "And you're like, I didn't like these people when I was in high school, why am I hanging out with them now? So I think in theory it sounds great, but when you do it it's just sad."
That being said, Hart doesn't fault others who are eager to bring back her beloved characters, including Clarissa creator Mitchell Kriegman, who has a new Clarissa-centric novel, titled Things I Can't Explain, in the works. "We did a pilot for CBS which never went, so [the book is] probably Mitchell's idea of what he would have done in that pilot, that he has been tossing around in his brain for so long that he just wanted to get it down on paper, I'd imagine," Hart says.
But for all her efforts to move forward in her work, Hart knows the reality is that she must also look back. Her memoir, Melissa Explains It All, is set for an October 22, 2013 release.
There are 32 days to go in Melissa Joan Hart's campaign. Fans can pledge over at the Darci's Walk Of Shame Kickstarter page.
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Smash is the musical drama that sparks a flurry of emotions in anyone who watches it. People either love it, hate it, or love to hate it. So to help celebrate all the outrageous, over-the-top, and fantastically farfetched moments, we present to you a weekly recap filled with the best Smash superlatives! What was the best cover song of the night? Who had the best verbal bitch-slap? What was the biggest Season 1 jab? Read on for all the awards and take to the comments with your favorite moments from “New Song.”
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This week’s Smash was all about one thing: Veronica “Ronnie” Moore’s (Jennifer Hudson) one night-only concert that Bravo was filming for an on-air extravaganza. The only problem is Ronnie has never been perceived by the public as anything other than America’s Broadway Sweetheart, and despite her momager’s opinion, she was willing to shake things up a bit.
And with that cue, Derek (Jack Davenport) and his visionary directorial skills was ready to turn Ronnie into a sexy, fresh and edgy performer. The show was a huge success and all you really need to know is Ronnie ended the night with a brand new song that Jimmy (Jeremy Jordan) wrote in less than 24 hours. Oh and Jimmy kissed Karen (Katharine McPhee) when he was super duper high on drugs.
The dramaturg Peter, took Julia (Debra Messing) to one of his acting classes and had his students read Bombshell out-loud after he had changed all the names. Julia realized that she only ever viewed Marilyn through the eyes of the man that she was with, so after a rush of inspirations, she and Peter worked non-stop on a new book for Bombshell.
After Nick returned from hiding, Eileen (Anjelica Huston) went to her court appearance regarding the Bombshell’s dirty money, and confessed that she knew exactly where the money was coming from. This freed Bombshell from it’s hold and the musical can now officially head to Broadway — but not with Eileen as their producer. At the end of the episode we learned that new Bombshell producer Jerry was working with Ellis this entire time to get the dirt on how to force his ex-wife out of the show.
RELATED: ‘Smash’ Superlatives: The Season 2 Premiere
Best Original Song: Jimmy’s less than 24 hours creation, “I Can’t Let Go,” was a gorgeous, flawless, lyrical piece that Ronnie used to end the show on the best way possible.
Best Cover Song: “I’ve Got Love” is Ronnie’s signature song that she sang twice in the episode: once as a Broadway sweetheart and the other as a sultry and sexually-charged singer. Both versions were undeniably amazing.
Best Insult: “‘If I’m going to be screwed by somebody it not going to be you.“ –Jimmy to Derek.
Best-Backhanded Compliment: “I know he’s the world’s worst human being but he’s a very good producer.” –Eileen on giving Bombshell over to her ex-husband Jerry.
Dumbest Line: That was definitely anything that came out of Jimmy’s mouth when he was high as a kite. “I many have done some drugs. Did I screw something up? Because Derek was angry, and then I was angry, and then Kyle was angry. Are you angry?” And the cherry on top of the silly sundae is the line Jimmy uttered after he and Karen shared the first kiss: “Wow. Wow and I’m not just saying that because I’m rolling.”
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Biggest WTF Moment: To let out some of her anger, Julia hurled a book at Peter’s face in the middle of a school quad. Sure, it was a very light book, but still. How old are you? Use your words honey.
Most Swoon-Worthy Moment: Anytime Jeremy Jordan sang while playing the piano.
Best Verbal Bitchslap: At one point in the episode, Jimmy puffed up his chest and attempted to start a fight with Derek in front of Karen. When she protested, Derek smoothly sneered, “It’s alright darling, he’s just showing off for you.” Burn!
Most Awkward Moment: When Nick returned (I honestly didn’t even remember that he was missing to be honest) he and Eileen sat on the couch and were supposedly sharing some sexual tension and angst. But in reality the scene was awkward as hell and only left us thinking about what an awful and awkward relationship this has been.
Best Jab at Season 1: A acting student in Peter’s class said it perfectly: “You can tell whoever wrote it knows how to write, but it’s missing something.” Biggest Bombshell Blunder: Even though he was never in a scene, Ellis managed to take down his former boss Eileen after all. Eileen, is out, Jerry is in, and Ellis is now a very rich little rat.
What did you think of “New Song”? Which superlatives would you like to add to the list? Sing your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeanneAguilera
[Photo Credit: Will Hart/NBC]
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Fun fact: Did you know that when you go to Starbucks and ask for the strongest, most caffeinated drink on the menu, they’ll give you an iced coffee with two shots of espresso? Not only am I wide awake, but I’ve discovered three amazing things this morning: 1.) I can spin in my chair eight and a half times before getting insanely dizzy. 2.) Googling Harlem Shake videos and then having a heated debate with your co-worker over the best one is a fantastic way to spend 30 minutes. 3.) I type really really quickly when I have amazing TV scoop to share.
This week’s edition of Leanne’s Spoiler List is filled with a great mix of five fantastic shows. Hollywood.com's spoiler spies gathered details from Giancarlo Esposito about Revolution’s dynamic return to TV and chatted with the unbelievably lovely Keri Russell to learn more about the heated scenes between our favorite Cold wars spies on The Americans. Grab some tissues because I’ve got spoilers on a pivotal Beauty and the Beast death, and how our favorite dysfunctional family will be ripped apart on Shameless. Plus, I answered one of your Twitter questions with some sexy Smash scoop! Read on for all the caffeine-fueled TV craziness below!
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1. Revolution: A Fast-Paced Return
When we last saw Monroe, he had accomplished what seemed like the impossible for our favorite characters on Revolution: not only did he have power, but he used that power to control working helicopters! That doesn't mean good things for Miles, Charlie, Danny, and co. — something star Giancarlo Esposito agreed with when we chatted during a break from filming — but Esposito added that it may not be too good for Monroe either. "Monroe has got stuff going on and he's slowly becoming unhinged because he has too much to think about," Esposito revealed.
But what about Esposito's Captain Neville? "I would hope that Neville is off meditating in the mountains or the Himalayas but he's not," Esposito teased. "He's trying to figure out how to survive just like everything else." Let's hope that doesn't mean plotting retaliation against Miles, who had just kidnapped and threatened Neville's wife in the midseason finale. We know how much Neville loves to get his revenge... and it's usually bloody.
And just in case you were worried Revolution was going to slow down in the back half of its freshman season, time to put those worries to rest. "This show is quickening. The pace is quickening and also the storylines are quickening," Esposito said. "I don't want to spoil it, but it's probably going to be double-matched, doubly more action-packed than it was in the first [half] and I think people are going to be very surprised... It's going to be a full-on ride now for the next few months." We can't wait!
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2. Shameless: Sibling Hide and Seek
Remember way back when in episode two of this season, when Frank drunkenly called Child Protective Services from the phone at the Alibi Room? Did you really think that Shameless would let that gem of a moment fall into the hazy alcohol-induced past? Nope! Since life is never easy for the Gallaghers, the kids' lives will get even harder when social services places them in different homes throughout Chicago.
Jumping straight into mommy mode, Fiona's first order of business is to find where everyone is — then to make sure they're all okay. And of course her next goal is to do everything humanly possible to get our favorite dysfunctional family back together. Unfortunately, even though she's been taking care of the kids for years, Fiona has no authority in the eyes of the court. Perhaps there's a more permanent solution out there...
Meanwhile, Veronica and Kev's quest to have a baby takes a bizarre turn when the couple tries to find a surrogate. Their selection is a person who's closer to them than you'd think — but they'll get even closer when they take unconventional steps to conceive. Gotta love that crazy couple.
And here’s another tidbit, just for fun: Someone that several of the Gallaghers are intimately acquainted with returns to town. Who could it be?! Shout out your speculations in the comments!
RELATED: Leanne’s Spoiler List: Couple Alert! What’s Next for Nick and Jess on ‘New Girl’?
3. The Americans: Short-Lived Marital Bliss
The end of last week's episode may have infuriated some fans of The Americans (I know I was mad!) Here’s a quick refresher: Philip gave Elizabeth the cold shoulder for her former affair with a colleague, possibly forgetting the fact that he is currently embroiled in an affair of his own. Double standard: party of one?
To help sort out all of the Cold War craziness, Hollywood.com spoke to Keri Russell last week, and she said that Elizabeth will catch on sooner than we think. "Oh, I think she's going to care," Russell teased. "I think she's going to start caring, a lot. I have a feeling she'll take care of things."
Uh-oh... does that mean a certain mistress may find her head on a stick (Oh wait, sorry! This isn't Game of Thrones... ) I’m not too sure, but I do know that their recent marital bliss will be short-lived. "Things heat up, instantly," Russell said. "They are heightening the relationship. Philip and Elizabeth have been working together all of this time — she has always been the hard-liner, where he's been the one that can bend.”
The actress explained that even though these two are leading false lives, their feelings for each other are far from fake. “This new aspect of their relationship, where they may truly be in love now, doesn't change that past. Some things are going to be brought up that are documented facts of the way they were different back then, and could be very fractious to the relationship."
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4. Beauty and the Beast: A Killer Episode
Get ready for one killer episode of Beauty and the Beast when the Grim Reaper comes a knocking in Thursday’s all-new episode. You read that right, fans: someone’s going to die! Sheesh, first The Vampire Diaries and now this? Why can’t you just let us be happy, CW Gods?!
Jay Ryan, the hunky hottie behind beastly Vincent Keller, warned us weeks ago that someone was going to bite the dust in “Tough Love”… we just didn’t want to believe him! Sigh.
“Vincent is in a position where he has to save the life of Catherine’s sister, and in doing so it forces the beast to accidentally kill someone that was in the way of saving Heather’s life,” Ryan told Hollywood.com. “And that person is very close to one of our series regulars. So it basically ramps up the witch-hunt on Vincent.”
Eek! I checked in with my all-knowing CW spoiler fairy and we can confirm that this “someone” is definitely close to more than one of our series regulars. But of course I can’t exactly tell you who, now can I? I can tell you that executive producer Brian Peterson says you definitely don’t want to miss Thursday night’s jaw-dropping episode.
“What happens after Vincent has killed somebody is that it will galvanize a certain group of people on the show against the vigilante and motivate their need to destroy him. Everything gets turned on its head. It is the most pivotal episode of the whole series thus far,” Peterson told Hollywood.com. “The tragedy of Vincent’s nature and his instinct to protect switches everything up.”
One thing that BatB fans should definitely know: Make sure you have your kleenex box handy, because this episode is a tearjerker. Don't say I didn't warn you!
RELATED: Leanne's Spoiler List: Cocaine Fueled Adventure on 'Girls', Megan Hilty Talks 'Smash' Romance
5. Twitter Question: @Whattowatch100: Smash news please! Is there hope for Karen &amp; Derek after the beer bottle snub? #leanneslist
That moment — which I’m now officially declaring as the Beer Brushoff of 2013 — was certainly an interesting interaction in last night’s Smash, wasn’t it? We all saw that Karen definitely has a little bit of a crush on Broadway’s newest bad boy, and in next week’s episode things get even more heated. Okay, I’m all hopped up on caffeine so I’m just gonna say it: there’s going to be a smooch, y’all!
Sure, it may not be the most romantical of moments, and there may or may not be heavy drug use involved, but let’s be honest: If Jimmy’s face was right next to yours, you’d kiss it too!
Just because next week’s episode, “The Song,” has some Kammy (Karen/Jimmy) chemistry, doesn’t mean that all hope is lost for the world’s most debonair director. Derek is a bit preoccupied with Ronnie’s phenomenal Bravo-televised one-night-only spectacular, and dealing with the stage mom from hell. If you thought Rebecca Duvall was a diva, just wait for the ferocity to hit the fan when Ronnie’s mother hits the stage.
And speaking of Season 1 storylines, does anyone happen to remember a smarmy, peanut-wielding, rat of an assistant named Ellis? Let’s just say that my wish did not come true and he was not run over by a bus after last season’s finale.
How are you feeling about the new Jimmy/Karen chemistry on Smash? Who do you think is going to die on Beauty and the Beast? Intrigued by the familiar face returning to Shameless? Tell me everything in the comments below!
Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeanneAguilera
—Additional reporting by Sydney Bucksbaun, Jean Bentley, Shaunna Murphy and Kelsea Stahler.
[Photo Credit: John Domoney/NBC, Will Hart/NBC, Chuck Hodes/Showtime, Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW, Craig Blankenhorn/FX]
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Smash sparks a mix of emotions in anyone who watches it: people either love it, hate it, or love to hate it. So to help celebrate all the outrageous, over-the-top, and fantastically far-fetched moments, we'll bring you a weekly recap filled with the best Smash superlatives! What was the best cover song of the night? Who had the best verbal bitch-slap? What was the biggest Season 1 jab? Read on for all the awards and take to the comments with your favorite moments from “The Dramaturg.”
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Karen (Katharine McPhee) spent the majority of this episode trying to convince Derek (Jack Davenport) to meet with Jimmy and Kyle about their cutting-edge new musical Hit List, but the world’s most attractive director had other things on his mind. Determined to get his job back on the revival of “The Wiz,” Derek arranged for Ronnie and a producer to come see a reworked number from Bombshell — which Julia (Debra Messing) then hijacked and debuted a brand new scene between Marilyn and JFK.
Why is Julia adding new scenes you ask? Well, Eileen (Anjelica Houston) decided it was time to take control and hired an uber sexy “dramaturg” to come in and completely overhaul Bombshell. Julia was absolutely appalled that this stranger dared to changed anything in her precious book — but it’s clear to everyone except her that the play is in need of a serious redesign.
After whining and doubting herself for half the episode, Ivy auditioned for the lead in a brand new musical and surprise, surprise: she got it! And in the end, Derek and Karen showed up at Jimmy and Kyle’s apartment to learn all about the premise of “Hit List.” Basically all you need to know is it’s about a down-on-his-luck guy who falls in love with a girl. That girl then steals his songs, and becomes famous, but rather than calling her out, the guy is so in love that he continues to give her all of his work.
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Best Original Song: The episode kicked off with a fun and catchy new number from “Hit List” called, “Good For You.” Karen daydreamed a very elaborate production for this number in which she was seductively singing while crowd surfing. Nice to know she can multi-task.
Best Cover Song: It seems like our character’s daydreams brought out the best songs of this episode. Ivy’s hallucination in the Bombshell rehearsal brought forth a gorgeous, slow-down version of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.”
Best Insult: When Tom is trying to help Ivy understand a new character, he describes the girl as a innocent, nice and full of yearning. To which Ivy quipped with a snarky face, “She sounds like Karen Cartwright.”
Best-Backhanded Compliment: When Julia asked the dramaturg if there is absolutely anything that he likes about her book, he replied, “I think Marilyn Monroe is an interesting subject for a musical.” Burn!
Dumbest Line: “Let’s bounce!” — Jimmy when he gets news that Karen and Derek have cancelled on their dinner meeting.
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Biggest WTF Moment: Eileen’s eyebrows. They look like they’re trying to crawl off her face!
Best Bitchslap: Not only did Eileen hire the dramaturg without even consulting Julia, she also was fully away that he wanted to rip her book to shreds. But when Julia confronted her producer, Eileen calmly informed her that she is one hundred percent replaceable.
Most Awkward Moment: When Karen when to grab beers for the three guys, she brushed right past Derek’s outstretched hands and gave the first beer to Jimmy. Not only was it rude, it was awkward as hell.
Best Jab at Season 1: The fact that there is a character that is completely rewriting the musical is a huge knock to last season. However, the lowest blow definitely came from when the dramaturg scoffed at the idea of the Marilyn “shadow-selves.” Agreed!
What did you think of “The Dramaturg”? Which superlatives would you like to add to the list. Sing your heart out in the comments section below!
Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeanneAguilera
[Photo Credit: NBC]
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David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas consists of six stories set in various periods between 1850 and a time far into Earth's post-apocalyptic future. Each segment lives on its own the previous first person account picked up and read by a character in its successor creating connective tissue between each moment in time. The various stories remain intact for Tom Tykwer's (Run Lola Run) Lana Wachowski's and Andy Wachowski's (The Matrix) film adaptation which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The massive change comes from the interweaving of the book's parts into one three-hour saga — a move that elevates the material and transforms Cloud Atlas in to a work of epic proportions.
Don't be turned off by the runtime — Cloud Atlas moves at lightning pace as it cuts back and forth between its various threads: an American notary sailing the Pacific; a budding musician tasked with transcribing the hummings of an accomplished 1930's composer; a '70s-era investigatory journalist who uncovers a nefarious plot tied to the local nuclear power plant; a book publisher in 2012 who goes on the run from gangsters only to be incarcerated in a nursing home; Sonmi~451 a clone in Neo Seoul who takes on the oppressive government that enslaves her; and a primitive human from the future who teams with one of the few remaining technologically-advanced Earthlings in order to survive. Dense but so was the unfamiliar world of The Matrix. Cloud Atlas has more moving parts than the Wachowskis' seminal sci-fi flick but with additional ambition to boot. Every second is a sight to behold.
The members of the directing trio are known for their visual prowess but Cloud Atlas is a movie about juxtaposition. The art of editing is normally a seamless one — unless someone is really into the craft the cutting of a film is rarely a post-viewing talking point — but Cloud Atlas turns the editor into one of the cast members an obvious player who ties the film together with brilliant cross-cutting and overlapping dialogue. Timothy Cavendish the elderly publisher could be musing on his need to escape and the film will wander to the events of Sonmi~451 or the tortured music apprentice Robert Frobisher also feeling the impulse to run. The details of each world seep into one another but the real joy comes from watching each carefully selected scene fall into place. You never feel lost in Cloud Atlas even when Tykwer and the Wachowskis have infused three action sequences — a gritty car chase in the '70s a kinetic chase through Neo Seoul and a foot race through the forests of future millennia — into one extended set piece. This is a unified film with distinct parts echoing the themes of human interconnectivity.
The biggest treat is watching Cloud Atlas' ensemble tackle the diverse array of characters sprinkled into the stories. No film in recent memory has afforded a cast this type of opportunity yet another form of juxtaposition that wows. Within a few seconds Tom Hanks will go from near-neanderthal to British gangster to wily 19th century doctor. Halle Berry Hugh Grant Jim Sturgess Jim Broadbent Ben Whishaw Hugo Weaving and Susan Sarandon play the same game taking on roles of different sexes races and the like. (Weaving as an evil nurse returning to his Priscilla Queen of the Desert cross-dressing roots is mind-blowing.) The cast's dedication to inhabiting their roles on every level helps us quickly understand the worlds. We know it's Halle Berry behind the fair skinned wife of the lunatic composer but she's never playing Halle Berry. Even when the actors are playing variations on themselves they're glowing with the film's overall epic feel. Jim Broadbent's wickedly funny modern segment a Tykwer creation that packs a particularly German sense of humor is on a smaller scale than the rest of the film but the actor never dials it down. Every story character and scene in Cloud Atlas commits to a style. That diversity keeps the swirling maelstrom of a movie in check.
Cloud Atlas poses big questions without losing track of its human element the characters at the heart of each story. A slower moment or two may have helped the Wachowskis' and Tykwer's film to hit a powerful emotional chord but the finished product still proves mainstream movies can ask questions while laying over explosive action scenes. This year there won't be a bigger movie in terms of scope in terms of ideas and in terms of heart than Cloud Atlas.
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